"Relax In The Lagubrious Luxury Of A Foreign Spa Or Build Your Own"
Spa
Long before recorded time, we retired to a spa for relaxation. Taking the waters... Looking for the Fountain of Youth, the ancients sought out the rejuvenating qualities of hot springs, mineral water, and mud baths going back as far as the Bronze Age, over 5,000 years ago. It wasn't only Ponce de Leon. In the United states hot springs were discovered in Saratoga, New York; White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia; Hot Springs, Virginia; Warm Springs, Georgia; and Hot Springs, Arkansas. Out west there are hundreds of hot springs. Not only can you relax in the sparkling mineral waters. They are purported to have medicinal healing qualities and have existed for centuries. The Romans had their baths. One of its most famous was in England, which the Romans invaded and occupied in 43 AD. This spa is composed of three hot springs. It is believed that the ancient Celts took the waters here and dedicated them to Sulis, the goddess of hot springs. Romans traveled here from all over the Empire believing that the hot springs cured all manner of ailments. In Rome, water poured into the city via the elaborate system of aqueducts. These water movers covered over 400 miles and brought water from the mountains down into Rome. Some Roman bath were the size of football fields. There were three types of baths. The caldarium, a hot bath, more like a sauna; the frigidarium (cold water); the tepidarium, a warm bath. They were public. People bathed nude. Furnaces stoked by the labor of slaves heated the caldarium. Slaves also gave massages, applied olive oil, and waited on the Romans hand and foot. Thermal swimming, waterfalls, hydro-massage and mud baths have always been part of the spa experience. Some famous spas in Europe, beside the ones in Rome, which were not natural springs, are mentioned below. This is by no means a definitive list. Unlike Europeans, who go to spas hoping to cure specific ailments, Americans go to reduce stress, revitalize their spirits, and clear their heads. There are hundreds of spas all over Europe. German spas became recognized in the 7th century. They are famous for the creative powers of their waters bubbling up from natural thermal springs. Visitors have access to facials for more healthy skin, as well as body wraps, underwater therapy, thermal baths, mudpacks, and soothing massages. Most of the steam baths and saunas are co-ed and nude. Not a lot of draping going on. The spa at Baden-Baden is the most famous in the Black Forest area of Baden-Wuettemburg. Bulgaria has over 500 mineral springs. They vary greatly in chemical composition. At Hissar the waters treat the digestive system, the pancreas, kidneys and secretary system, liver and gall bladder. The Roman Emperor Dicoletion, called the big dick by his secret service, came to the Hissar Spa in 293 B.C. He claimed the springs for himself and Rome, walled it in, and built marble baths for the aristocrats from Rome who vacationed here for centuries until Rome fell to the Barbarians. They never bathed and smelled worse than the bottom of a twenty-hole outhouse. Organic And Natural Handmade Soap Discovered in 1358, Karlovy Vary is in the Czech Republic. The water of 12 mineral springs in Carlsbad are thought to be beneficial in the treatment of allergies, metabolic disorders, intestinal, digestive problems, gout, and diabetes mellitus. The second largest spa in the Czech Republic is in Marianske Lazne. It is a gorgeous garden city. The mineral springs in this city bubble up carbon dioxide. Carbon baths are popular. The following diseases are treatable by this mineral water: nervous disorders, obesity, urinary problems, kidney malfunctions, and the respiratory Diseases of the kidney, urinary and the lungs. Leaving the Czech Republic, the next great spa is in the Slovak Republic at Piestany. There are ten springs here. Hot water rises from a depth of over one mile. The spring features sulphur mud. Syringomyelia with paretic signs is treated here. Post-accident and post-operation states of the locomotive apparatus; Disseminated sclerosis and other de-myelinic diseases in a benign state; Root syndromes of a vertebrogenic origin; States after meningoencephalitis and myelitis; Polyneuropathies with paretic signs; States after wounds or operations on the central and peripheral nerves; Post-acute hemi paresis and Para paresis of an arterial origin; Post-acute hemi paresis and Para paresis of an arterial origin; reactive and secondary arthritis; Degenerative joint diseases (arthritis)Scoliosis; Non-joint rheumatism; Rheumatoid arthritis and its variations. Italy alone has 130 hot springs. The hot spring at Abano Terme gets its heat from a nearby volcano, apparently benign. It is thought to be the oldest spa center in the world and was probably the spa of the cavemen, those Neanderthal nebbishes who wandered around Europe before the Cro Magnums flushed them out so us mere homo sapiens could take over and enjoy the waters. The mud therapy employed at this spa has been in use for over 2500 years. This mud seems to help hyperuricaemia, locomotor and joint problems, fibrosis neuritis, arthritis, gout as well as metabolic problems. The ruins of the spa, Montegrotto Terme, are near the Abano Terme. Julius Caesar and the Roam Emperor Claudius used this caved in spa. Terme di Saturnia is a mineral springs in Tuscany. There is a strong sulphur odor at the spring. The water in the huge pool is effervescing and its bubbles restore and regenerate from deep volcanic sources deep underground. Saturn, the Roman god of fertility and agriculture angered by many wars, threw a thunderbolt at the volcano in Tuscany. As a result, sulphurous warm water flowed from the volcano’s crater. It gushes water at 800 liters per second. It is 98.6 F. That's almost normal temperature for us mere mortals. The Etruscans, long before the Romans came on the scene, enjoyed the therapeutic blessings of these Italian hot springs. Caesar’s Legion, back from beating up on the Barbarians, took the waters here before returning to Rome, clean as a new sword. End of Spa
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